Are You Watching or Participating?

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December 13, 2010

Are you someone who watches or someone who participates? Someone who observes or someone who gets their hands dirty?

Why not BOTH?

There are too many people living on extreme ends of this world – some observing, busy over analyzing and criticizing things; while some too indulged in the execution of things, neither of which is better than the other.

Perhaps today is a good time to ask yourself, what have you been in 2010? And what do you want to become in 2011?

If you’ve been looking from the sidelines, it is time for you to put your analytical skills to good use and execute your plans.

If you’ve been getting your hands dirty all day long, it is time for you to start strategizing and formulating plans to increase productivity or the effectiveness of what you’re doing.

2011 is going to be an exciting and challenging year for many and you definitely do not want to just LOOK at passing opportunities or just JUMP into every passing one without a strategy.

It’s time to take on the new year with a bang!

Don’t Criticize – You Don’t Learn from Someone You Criticize

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December 10, 2010

| Jan Wong

Criticism is a funny thing. We can joke about things, people and situations but when we criticize, it tends to affect your being more than you actually know.

When we criticize a person, we are subconsciously labeling that person as unimportant or not-worth-my-time and when that happens, chances are even when he / she comes up with a good idea in the future, you won’t take it in.

Now bear in mind that constructive criticism is valid as it is but many find it difficult to really be constructive in their criticism to others, especially in an competitive environment.

What to do in situations such as these? Don’t criticize – as much as you want to, don’t. Give some time for yourself to look from different angles before passing a comment. If you absolutely have to say something, be objective and do not draw a conclusion on that person.

Easier said than done, but remember: if you go about criticizing everyone that comes into your way, you’ll end up with no one on your side – and you definitely do not want that to happen.

How to: Integrate Social Media in Business Using Blogs (Part 1)

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December 8, 2010

| Jan Wong

If I had to pick which social media tool is the most beneficial for businesses, I would say BLOGS will come first. Nevermind whether it is Blogger, WordPress or the likes – blogs, in general is perhaps one of the most important social media tool for businesses today.

Your business may have an active Facebook or Twitter page going but like it or not, Facebook and Twitter are great engagement tools and not necessarily the best tool in disseminating information and content, especially chunky ones to your customers.

3 Reasons on Why Your Business Should Blog:

1. It is your HOME BASE

Traditional websites are slowly moving into a blog environment because businesses see the value in providing consistent updates and additional value to their customers instead of having a well designed, static information website.

Having a blog (or in this case, the centre of content) can act as the primary place of information for your business where you can share what’s happening behind the scenes, updates on upcoming plans, interesting news and even insights in the industry your business is in – basically content that adds value to your prospects and customers.

Combine this with your engagement tools such as Facebook and Twitter, now your fans and followers will be able to find out and benefit more from you. This can easily be done by including a link to your blog on tweets and status updates.

Find out more about having a home base here!

2. Expert in the field

Now you may think that you can also establish a home base with a traditional website. True, but one thing blogs triumphs is that through your sharing of content, you are able to change the perception of your prospects and customers towards your business.

How so? A traditional website focuses on designs to create an impression. A blog focuses on content to create an impression. Which lasts longer? Blogs. The more valuable content you put out, the more your target audience will be able to know you and that builds a relationship that your competitor may not have with them.

If you are in business, chances are, you have tons of knowledge and experience in you. If you’re able to share them, that alone will make you an expert in the field – especially in the eyes of your customers. Customers value valuable content and transparency as it also influences buying decisions.

For consumers that are new to your business, a blog will be able to reflect your knowledge and experience in a particular field and in some cases, how active your business is by looking at when was your last update.

3. Low Cost

Guess what, you may already have been blogging and you just do not know about it. You may have been ‘blogging’ on advertorials, press releases, media write ups, newspaper columns, magazine columns and etc to position yourself in the market.

If you’ve been there, you should know that chances like that do not come by very often and sometimes it may cost you. If you’ve haven’t been there, you should also know that such opportunities may not be easy to find and that it will also cost you.

By having a blog, you have these opportunities every single day, at no cost! The only evident cost is your time. Your time to put together your thoughts, research, pen it down and to publish it online. Other than that, it’s literally free!

So, Why Blog?

Given the benefits, why NOT blog? I strongly believe that every industry will be able to benefit from having their very own blog. After all, wherever there is knowledge to something, there is definitely something to share from it, and blogs are the place to share them.

Have blogging been beneficial to you or your business? Do share them by commenting below! :)

Strategy is Everything

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December 6, 2010

| Jan Wong

A strategy determines which path you'll take

Proper planning is essential to success. Strategic planning is vital to success. One can plan for everything but without a STRATEGY, the plans are nothing.

You see, once you have clearly identified what your goals are it is important to carefully plan how you will achieve them – that’s planning, by putting down what you need to do. Strategy on the other hand, adds an edge and the “how-to” to your plans. For example, your plan may be to “move my blog to a .com by end 2010”. But how can you achieve it? That’s the strategy!

Many people skip this step in their excitement to pursue their goals and sad to say, failure to strategize will lead to failure and disappointment… leading to the abandonment of goals. What’s the problem over here? You did not have a success strategy.

It is true that no matter how carefully we lay out our plans, reality will require us to change and adapt through various circumstances. This is where your strategy shines – the adaptation of plans and the last minute improvisations that will push you towards your goal.

“The process of planning prepares you to take the steps necessary to realize your goals and aspirations.“

THIS is strategy

Take for example the picture above. The fish may have planned to join the other side but it takes strategy for that to happen – how much air to hold, how much strength to jump, how high to jump, how much momentum to build, how should it land – that’s STRATEGY!

Planning alone is not a success factor. You plan your game but it takes strategy to manage resources, coordinate and manage factors, changes and the environment. Planning is important, but strategy is crucial. A solid plan also makes room for a winning strategy.

Do you have a plan for 2011? Do you have a strategy for 2011? We’re only about 20+ days away from 2011. Take some time off today to plan and strategize!

Strategy is everything.

Doing Customer Service the Wrong Way

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December 3, 2010

| Jan Wong

Recently I wrote a post on how beneficial social media can be when integrated into customer service operations and I have to share what happened to me –

Some time last week I was intending to purchase a new laptop to replace my old faithful and I landed on the Facebook page of one of Malaysia’s latest I.T. concept stores to drop them an enquiry, making sure that they have what I wanted at hand before I dropped by.

They replied within a couple of hours (11am) and was very helpful by indicating that they only have one particular model left (the one I wanted) and that I can drop by the store and their sales personnel will be able to assist me. I was very happy at this point and decided to head over to their store after lunch.

I arrived at the store at about 3pm and asked about the laptop:

Me: Hi, do you have this particular laptop in stock? (just to double check)
Sales: Yes we do but we are down to the last unit for this model (he pointed to the brochure without me asking – it was what I wanted)
Me: Okay, great, I’ll take it now then.
Sales: (paused for a while) This unit is already reserved by my friend a couple of days back.
Me: Oh? But you mentioned that there is stock. It’s also mentioned to me on Facebook this morning.
Sales: Facebook? I don’t know.. I never check the Facebook page.
Me: Is there anyone I can talk to regarding the post on Facebook?
Sales: I’ve got no idea.

I was shocked and left with no other options by the sales personnel – I left the store and decided to post on their wall again reiterating the situation just to see what will their response be. A reply came about 3 hours later that read, “…our remaining units were reserved moments before your arrival…Much apologies again for the inconvenience caused.”

Well, I could only come up with 3 reasons at that point of time:

1. I was out of luck, having the remaining unitS reserved within the span of 3-4 hours (when the sales personnel said that there was only 1 unit available all along)

2. The sales personnel reported falsely on the availability of stocks to the social media personnel (in which he mentioned that he does not know who manages the Facebook page)

3. Communication breakdown (clearly the case)

The Conclusion

Apart from the major disappointment I experienced, I managed to discover a potential flaw in social media integrations within companies.

“You may have the best social media managers on the job but without proper communication and information, they’re as good as none.”

Remember, social media is all about providing an experience to your customers.

Is It Possible to Hire a PR / Young Person to Manage Your Social Media Presence?

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December 1, 2010

| Jan Wong

I’ve been noticing this as a trend lately that’s happening in many companies and businesses within Malaysia. Young grads are being hired for a specific job to find that they are given an additional job description – to manage the company’s social media accounts.

Is this really a smart thing to do?

A young person usually spends their entire day on Facebook, Twitter and blogs therefore they are great candidates to manage the accounts, isn’t it? WRONG. Though it may be true that they are technologically savvy, this does not automatically makes him or her a social media expert with the required capabilities to take on your company’s social media presence.

Likewise for PR Managers, they may be really good at what they do but this does not automatically makes them a social butterfly online. Plus, PR Managers generally have extrovert personalities so keeping them behind a screen to socialize may not work as well as you think it would.

Insisting on using them?

I would not go down this path but if that’s the only choice you have, consider looking up their backgrounds or throwing them a test before adding it to their job description. Check out their Facebook, Twitter and blog accounts to see what they usually talk about (you may even find that they are active only on Facebook games).

If you find that they are actively participating in chats, sharing informative contents, retweeting, creating content and etc – Congratulations! You’ve found your man (or woman)!

If you find that they are actively chatting casually, sharing random contents, talking about the bits and pieces of their life, mostly participating in games and etc – You may not want to bestow them your company’s social media accounts.

What should be done then?

The best for the job is definitely a social media manager or consultant that specializes in social media. One that does not only have the knowledge, but also with the experience to generate ideas, execute and creatively engage with his / her network.

There are tons of articles out there listing the various areas to look for in a social media manager so I won’t go into the details but most of them concur that he / she must have some past experience in the field. It can be personal experiences, various projects / campaigns or past / present clients.

Also, do not hesitate to probe questions to test their knowledge in the field as knowing these can give you an ease of mind and somewhat gauge the potential results thus evaluating whether he or she is worth your money.

So, is it really a ‘no’ to hire a young person / PR to do the job for me?

Never :)

How Are You Keeping Up With 2010?

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November 29, 2010

| Jan Wong

We’ve already come to the end of November and it will soon be Christmas, then 2011. How has 2010 been treating you? Has it been difficult? Challenging? Disappointing?

Recently I was reminded with the old days where I used to train under my coach for badminton. I remember that it is at the time when I’m facing a stronger opponent, physically drained, worn out and out of breathe, my coach will always tell me:

“Keep your focus! If 100% isn’t enough, go 200%! If 200% still isn’t enough, go 300%! You’re here to win it, else you’re going home!”

Today when I look back, wow, there is so much truth in that. When life gets challenging and tough, that’s your opportunity to shine – to accomplish something you’ve never done before. Successful entrepreneurs take on challenges because they know their skills will be refined and failures will only make them stronger.

Are you on the verge of giving up? Now is the time to focus upon the goal – to win it – giving it 200%, 300% or more.

Let’s end 2010 with a bang!

How to: Create Customer Loyalty with 10 cents

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November 26, 2010

| Jan Wong

“Do you believe that 10 cents is all it takes to lose a potential loyal customer over your competitor?“

10 cents

I can’t help but to realize how important 10 cent is to both the consumer and the business. No, I’m not talking about price wars between similar products but how far 10 cents can determine whether a customer returns to you.

Have you been into a situation in a restaurant and the bill summed up to say, RM12.10 and the thought comes – “can’t you even give a 10 cent discount?“

If you haven’t, great! But if you have, you’re probably one of the many out there like myself and I have been doing some observation and testing to see how people have been reacting in this situation.

Situation 1

Customer: It’s only 10 cents, do you have really have to charge that?
Business A: Nah, I’ll round it up to RM12 for you. Please come again!

Situation 2

Customer: It’s only 10 cents, do you have really have to charge that?
Business B: Of course! 10 cents go a long way. Please come again! (I actually received this response for word)

Situation 3

Business C: (brings the bill of RM12.10) Hi sir, that will be RM12.00
Customer: (surprised) Oh, here you go.
Business C: Thank you, Please come again!

Looking at these 3 situations, which situation would you like to be in? How would you like going back to the Business B in Situation 2? Sure, 10 cents isn’t a lot and it will indeed go a long way for a business but from the viewpoint of a customer, that is no customer service and creates a negative impression that may determine the buying behavior of that customer – to not come back to you again.

Even worst if that customer decides to use social media as his / her arsenal to vent – more like minded customers will catch the message and perhaps skip you altogether (ouch).

Now before you shove this away and think that it’s no big deal, you may have to think again as customers such of these are not rare. Be prepared for situations such as these and you may just win yourself a loyal customer.

What Can We Learn From 10 cents?

Every cent counts. Every deed you do for your customer counts – whether it is a personalized service, special discounts, freebies, a listening ear, priority service, engaging in small talks or even remembering their names.. it makes a difference and that difference may just be THAT differentiating factor that sets you apart from your competitor.

Have you been in similar situations? I would love to hear them! :)

How to: Integrate Social Media in Offline Operations

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November 24, 2010

| Jan Wong

“Is online / social media alone the way forward for your business?“

Being a huge believer of the importance of INTEGRATION instead of implementation, my answer to that is NO. Businesses today are too caught up with the ideology of social media but fail to realize the huge potential social media can bring when integrated into traditional marketing efforts.

It is important for businesses to realize that social media integration does not mean that by having social media presence everything will fall into place. If you take a look at same of these real life integrations of social media with Facebook and Twitter, you’ll find that these companies are successful online because they managed to integrate it into existing OFFLINE business operations.

Here are some integration ideas for you to maximize your marketing potential:

#1: EVENTS + SOCIAL MEDIA

Have an event coming up soon? Whether it is an exhibition, launch or a regular meetup / happening, explore how you can spice up your event with available social media tools. You can use Facebook to share photos leading towards the event to build hype and organize giveaways; use Twitter to share real time updates on what’s happening on the scene and behind the scenes, facilitate tweetchats or setup a Twitter wall at the event with a contest mechanism to build followers; rewarding visitors that check in to your venue on Foursquare or even a treasure hunt!

There is a timely article written on Mashable yesterday on this very topic with 5 ideas on how you can enhance your events with social media. Click on the thumbnail to check it out!

#2: ADVERTISING / PROMO + SOCIAL MEDIA

You have a new product or service and is wanting some follower / fan love? Facebook can be used to disseminate information regarding your product or to give out demo units; if you have an existing network, identify strong personas and request for them to review your product and service on blogs; use Twitter to it’s fullest potential by sharing exclusive deals or twouchers (vouchers) to start a string of retweets; perhaps the mayor on Foursquare entitled to a VIP-class treatment of your service?

#3: CUSTOMER SERVICE + SOCIAL MEDIA

I can’t stress the importance and the effectiveness of customer service using social media. The more active channels you make available for your customers and prospects to approach you, the better.

The 2 common mediums are Facebook and Twitter. If you can capitalize on these 2 you should be in the run of something good. Do not leave questions unattended for days, reply to every enquiry within 1-2 hours consistently and your customers will find GREAT value in your service.

One thing to note is that you should never, ever give out inconsistent / inaccurate information on social media as you could cook up a storm in a matter of minutes, especially if you have a huge network.

If you’re feeling adventurous, you can even use Twitter to take orders for your business like Coffee Groundz did!

#4: ON-SITE INTERACTIVITY + SOCIAL MEDIA

Who says social media are only limited to virtual interactions? Coca Cola brought the ‘like’ feature on Facebook to life! Check out the video below to see how it happened:

I agree that this setup can be a little too complicated for some to take on but it sure triggers some simpler ideas. A giant photo tagging wall or a mini wall in front of each exhibitor for visitors to ‘post’ on, the only limit is your imagination :)

Have you come across any interesting social media integrations into real life (offline) operations?

Do share them here!

When Did You Stop Dreaming?

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November 22, 2010

| Jan Wong

Many of us have dreams; or rather, used to have dreams.

Look back at those times when you were growing up in school – you may have big dreams – to become a millionaire by a certain age, to be your own boss, to travel the world, to write a book, to have THE job, to have a fairy-like wedding and etc – now ask yourself: When did you stop dreaming?

Or did you tell yourself to be real and get over the dreams?

I would say: Dream, and make it real. Don’t let reality be an excuse for you to stop dreaming, and nobody is too young or old to stop dreaming. Have you ever wondered why some people can be so passionate in the things they do and they can go all out, claiming success as theirs? They are nowhere special as you yourself are. You can, too!

One of the reasons why they are able to do it is because they have a dream – and they are set to achieve it. They are willing to do what it takes, to sacrifice and to persevere through whatever that comes in their way. They managed to put-to-action their passion for the dream and believe they can do it.

Now, if you’re sitting there saying to yourself that you’ve already tried many times and still failed or simply do not have the resources or time to achieve your dreams anymore, you’re simply not trying enough. As you know, there are risks in life and each dream you have is also likely to have risks attached to it. For example – you may have to give up your current job to be your own boss.

I’m not saying that if you try hard enough, your dreams will 100% come true; but what I can tell you for sure is that if you give up, you’ll 100% have NO chance in achieving your dreams. Take a look at a short video below of seven real life dreamers that have been rejected, ridiculed and laughed at YET persevered, pursued and achieved their dreams:

What Can You Do Today:

1. Start dreaming

Yes, it’s time to start dreaming again. Don’t let reality pull you back.

2. Write down that dream of yours

Put it on paper, pin it up somewhere, put it as your wallpaper or anyway to remind you of your dream. Even better, share it with someone that has a dream too and work towards it together!

3. Map out what it takes to achieve that dream

List down what sacrifices is required and what will you need to achieve it – be as specific as possible and always take up the opportunity to be one step closer to your dream!

4. Make your dream a reality!

If you can’t take it on right away, make allocations to start working on it. If a certain method does not work, try another or try talking to someone that has already been through it for advice – the Web is a great place for that. Use Facebook, Twitter or participate in discussions to get more ideas and support to have your dream come true!

What is your dream?

DREAM, and MAKE IT A REALITY!